Smallville does not belong to me, it owns me.
.~o()o~.
It was late and Aria was tired, but she couldn't turn the lights out in the Talon and go home just yet. Lana had a history test the next day and had begged off early, leaving a mess of spilt coffee and wadded up napkins for her to clean up alone. It was well after midnight before she finally locked the doors and step out into the alley, the chill air biting at her cheeks.
Aria was short and overweight with mousy brown hair and eyes. Her skin was bad and she never smiled, hiding clunky metal braces behind her lips. She kept to the shadows on the sidewalk, her hood pulled up over her forehead and her shoulders hunched.
A crash sounded from somewhere behind her and she heard the sound of drunken male voices. She walked faster, but it was too late, a group of five guys from her high school had spilled out onto the street and were now surrounding her.
Aria hunched her shoulders further and tried to push past them, but the tallest one grabbed her around the waist, pulling her up against him.
"What are you doing on our street, garbage girl?" One of them whispered in her ear.
"I'm on my way home, just leave me alone." Aria again tried to break away, but she was now fenced in on all sides.
"I don't think so. You see, this is our street, and on our street, you have to pay a toll. You give us one kiss. . .each, and then you can be on your merry way."
"I'd rather eat garbage," she said flatly as she tried to barrel her way past the smallest of the guys. He wound up and punched her in the face. She yelped as her eye began to swell shut.
"I think that can be arranged."
They hauled her down the street to a nondescript black pickup truck. Four of them pulled her into the back while the other hopped into the driver's seat. They roared out of town toward the Smallville landfill.
Aria sat still, not wanting to risk jumping from a moving truck, but as soon as they stopped by a massive pile of trash, she let loose, biting, clawing, kicking and punching, going for as many low blows as possible, but she wasn't strong enough to fight them all. The tall one shoved her to the ground and kicked her savagely in the stomach. She lay there, winded, and watched in horror as they drove the truck to ward the massive pile of trash next to her, knocking it over to bury her. A large chunk of metal hit her forehead and the night was swallowed by unconsciousness.
She woke shivering. Garbage surrounded her and she could hardly tell which way was up. Eventually, she spat, and deduced by the spray that landed on her face shortly after, that she was lying on her back. She groaned as her head pounded, every movement sending a spike of agony through her tender forehead, but she knew she couldn't stay here. No one knew where she was but the five guys who put her there and she figured they were probably too drunk to remember they had committed a crime.
Part of an old shelf was stuck in the ground next to her and it had something resembling a shelter, preventing her from being completely encased in debris.
She began to dig carefully, hoping she was digging her way out and not further into the mound of trash. The ground was soft and powdery. Little puffs of dust rose in the air with every movement. It caught in her throat, making her cough harshly, but her survival instinct overrode her respiratory needs.
She began to sing to herself between coughs, desperately trying to keep from panicking. She soon settled into a groove, shovelling dirt and garbage in rhythm with her words. Soon, she didn't even know what she was singing, just nonsense words and phrases, over and over again, every moment growing closer to hysterical.
Finally, she smelled fresh air and, after a few more armloads, she crawled out of the trash heap. She stood, gasping for as much untainted air as her lungs could hold. Then she felt herself reeling, vision growing dark around the edges, consciousness proving elusive once more.
.~o()o~.
A/N You know the drill, read and review!